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Don’t look too hard to “find” a haiku. Let it find you. Be open, receptive, welcoming.
~ Zee Zahava
Welcome.
As haiku becomes a regular practice, we discover that paying attention — teamed with “forgetting ourselves” and connecting to the truth of our belonging — serve to inspire and nourish a sense of wonder, curiosity, and play. We begin, in the words of Tom Clausen, to “feel inspiration in moments freely found anyplace, anytime, anywhere.” We find ourselves with greater capacity to be open, receptive, and welcoming as we allow haiku to “find” us.
Haiku and calligraphy by Br. David Steindl-Rast
Tom Clausen observes that “Haiku return to us the wonder and curiosity we had as a child.” And yes, a childlike perspective is available to us in every moment. As Br. David has said, “That child is in every one of us, a child for whom the cosmos is alive.”
The Practice
Today we invite you to move through your day experiencing the world around you with the wonder and curiosity of a child. Be curious and expansive. Experiment with being joyful, fearless, and a bit silly. Allow yourself to make playful connections and to notice the way that something out of place like a crooked flagstone may be offering you comfort, delight, or surprise. Be open, receptive, and welcoming; allowing a haiku (or more than one!) to find you.
When you are ready, write your haiku in a notebook and feel free to share it, along with any additional discoveries, in the reflection area below.
Enjoy the full eight-day Exploring Haiku practice.
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Watching bubbles fly
Waving the wand to create more
Laughing inner child
Purple blossoms on trees
How did it get the name Redbud?
Mixed in with Spring’s green, Divine!
purple violets
and dandelion yellow
spring’s colors shine new
The feathered Grand Dame
EYES the girls
As they leave the house
Taking Her time
Moonmight coloring
Clouds in silver and blue.
Clouds coloring moonlight
Moonlight lent by the sun
Celebrating clouds
while lying in the grass, I
revel in their shapes
A bumpy rock. Wait. Eyes?
Gazing, wondering, smiling
The frog looks back at me.
As I was sweeping my patio, I hesitated at a curious cement-looking rock. Suddenly an eye opened, and I realized it must’ve been a tree frog, blown down by the storm, perfectly camouflaged on the concrete patio, except for those yellow eyes. Amazing gift of nature.
Sampson and I play
daily chase and tug o’ war
minding our hour-Lauds
Downward dog, tail wag
my invitation issued
I accept with glee!
Life has been very demanding and I haven’t been able to keep up with the class in real time. That makes me sad as I feel once removed, trying to keep up and out of the loop.
But here’s my haiku for this morning.
April cold bites hard
flowers duped me to believe
Sunbeams will be warm
and in honor of my tiny bunny who is very possessive…
He loves and owns me
with a warm salty spray that
tells the world “she’s mine”
A warm spring evening
And soft light closing the day
Water the garden
I remove last year’s debris—
Ready for new growth
Thought of a haiku
gives notice the blind is closed!
Now spring sun pours in.
warm fire tapping rain
soft fur distraction RIGHT HERE
as I write of cats
A very strange day
a beautiful reading child
a very slim dog
a need for an extra line
Following the scent
an amethyst treasure–here the grass
yielding to violets
The boney lace of winter trees
this morning soft–
the first breath of green
Sweet boxer zoomies
Racing around the back yard
White spittle flying
Purr-fect pink pads
on little white feet.
The kitty asleep on my lap.
before fear
we are all children
begging to come out and play
swept with sudden glee
super cute whale-cow plush toy
candy store surprise
reminds, invites to
enjoy fun carefree pleasures
balances strong drive
Hand written message
from yesteryear friend of mine
good memories flow.
Stoop steps wear new treads
No more wet slippery feet
from April showers.
With huge admiration
stems strong singing flowers
daffodilly determination.
Despite the 40-50mph winds, my daffodils stood to greet the day.
chitter chittering
birds dancing before my eyes
join in celebration
First cane-aided walk
Nostrils funnel fresh spring air
Wind tousles hair. Ah
Our Lady blazes
Relics lost. Sad tragedy.
History remains
Notre Dame on fire
Spawns horror and disbelief
The world is mourning.
Wind
Temperatures drop
Wind chimes ring in lively song
Trees wildly dancing
Ice Cream Truck
Familiar song
Excited children running
Cold and sweet the treats
Sons going pass
Looking to see where
The life she may live
I do see that there is a way
To see some day
Past one
Blue skies and winds
Fair lawns and pastels
To settle this days rent
Notre Dame Paris
Cathedral fire shakes world
Spire FALLS
Eyes mist
I tried typing this in a creative format but it was somehow lost.
The fire is a tragedy.
And I know they ask for peak experiences, but this is the opposite. It’s a low… any comments? Grief is also a low but I’ve written about grief in the past.
The fire definitely brings grief up for me, as did unnaturally strong winds the other night. The state of our Earth, climate disruption, leaves me in a recurring state of grief. Here is what I wrote the other night with that in mind:
Fierce wind
pummels the unsettled soul.
Sleepless agitation. Grief.
catch the breeze
butterfly kisses blow
cloud shapes and bubble gum
one, two, three…
be silly, dirty, big, little
with me
Half printed ticket data
caught the observer´s
joy! This bus rides to my friend.
Young one: watching, exploring
Happy feet scurry
Off we go! Sunshine!
Knj
4/15/19
The Secret Garden of my
childhood reads evokes
sweet memories in my.
heart
The Secret Garden was my all time favorite read as a child. My father gave me the book for my tenth birthday; I still have it and it
still fills my heart with joy so the haiku above.
Ball in sky captures
eyes away from screams finding
home in outstretched hands
Bike rides through shadows,
sun splashed streets and hill crests once
sparkling mirages
exotic orchid
blooms are smiling straight at me
so I smile right back!
—IDK
What manifestations of nature will show up its magic today ?
Rain falls from the sky again
Puddles egg me on
Come on why not jump
cinnamon-foamed chai
buys me access, observer
of college banter
the gap between us
is not as wide as these clear-
skinned dreamers may think
no tv, no paper, no radio
yet news seeps in
ah, Haiku relief
Love this!
Morning rain, torrential.
Lilly stalk standing tall amid aging blooms,
relentless.
Sun on stained glass
Rainbow cast on old stone walls
I dream of fruit sweets
It’s the Easter holiday
What shall we do today?
Don’t know. Let’s have fun
sign: Forsythia
glorious, golden delight!
No Pruning Allowed.
Stroll, after the rain
Birds sing and plants steal the show
With its heart shaped leaves
Lesson: the winner is in the eyes of the beholder ! If bird wins, then the winner is in the ears of the listener. Someday we win, someday we lose. Cest la vie!
Yesterday winter winds
Today daffodils peeking at sunshine
Seasons playing tag
Raindrops gleam on budding twigs
like unshed tears –
not a crybaby!
~~
Chill spring rain –
puddles and mud
to splash in.
Today, be curious,
Be joyful, fearless, silly.
Be your inner child!
Today, be open,
Be receptive, be welcoming.
Experience wonder!
Snow on roof tops
Snow on trees and daffodils
Spring in my heart
Slept in this morning
Warm covers swaddled, wombed
The birth of day, delayed
Phone reminder 6am
“Litter box change”
Monday, monday, meow, me
My cat sleeps with me.
prism hangs in window
red,green,yellow dots on wall
morning ignited
Snow on bird feeder
Melts into sparkling droplets
Sunlit diamonds
Blanketed under clutter
Go out and play
How?
Just
Be
Amazed
Sadly I found trying to do something with the abandonment of a child much harder than I thought thanks to my loud to do list. It was so intense I decided to pay attention to that.
flowering tree hums
with a hundred gleaners—
springtime harvest
Starting a journey
Home in the rearview mirror
Peaches in a bag
From yesterdays walk . . .
Buzzing “gatekeepers”
circling around my head
I also live here
Mosquitos, blood sucking mothers
Give life to protein snacks for bats and humminbirds
Bring me no disease
I know my place in your food chain.
You me one love
My skin, your fur, we purr-rr
the joy of kitten
Chattering music
Attention to this moment
Birdsong is a gift
See, hear, touch, taste, smell
Sensational acts of being
Life to the full.
A spring morning, walking down the road, the sun smiling across the horizon, a re-lenting sense of wanting to run, to dance, turn my face to the sun. As Mary Oliver wrote, “Why I Wake Early,”: “Watch, now, how I start the day,/in happiness, in kindness.” Sensational this being human.
Thank you. A wonderful expression of being guided by by heart in joy
Thunder rolls
flashing earth awakens
Refreshed alive
wet hands surround clay
wheel spins and center opens
air bubble laughing
Garbage men visit
Soundtrack small springtime sparrows
Cat sleeps through it all
Footprints in the oatmeal
spring has sprung
Haikubirds visiting
I show you in words
colorful sparking gems
A haiku.